Thousands are expected to protest in Michigan today as Republican Gov. Rick Snyder prepares to sign a pair of anti-union bills that would make his the 24th so-called "right-to-work" state in the country. Pushed through before Democrats gain five House seats in the new Legislature next month, opponents call the effort an organized attack against labor that will suppress wages and weaken collective bargaining rights. "He’s...

Migrant workers account for a staggering 94 percent of the workforce and 80 percent of the population in Qatar, making it the country with the highest ratio of migrants to citizens in the world. Qatar’s migrants come largely from poorer countries in South Asia to labor in the country’s oil and construction sectors or in its restaurants, hotels and homes. Their plight has come to the fore as Qatar hosts the U.N. climate summit and...

Fast-food workers walked off the job in New York City Thursday to hold a series of rallies and picket lines in what has been called the largest series of worker actions ever to hit the country’s fast-food industry. Hundreds of workers at dozens of restaurants owned by McDonald’s, Burger King, Taco Bell and others went on strike and rallied in a bid for fair pay and union recognition. Organizers with the Fast Food Forward campaign...

The Bangladeshi government has declared a period of national mourning for more than 120 garment workers who died in a fire at a factory that supplied U.S. retail giant Wal-Mart, among others. Joining us from Bangladesh is labor activist Kalpona Akter, who has visited the factory and took pictures of the charred clothing labels she found there — including the Wal-Mart brand, Faded Glory. She started work in garment factories when she was...

A wave of historic protests struck the retail giant Wal-Mart on Black Friday, the busiest shopping day of the year. Workers and their supporters demonstrated at more than 1,000 stores. The Wal-Mart protests were organized in part by OUR Walmart, an organization backed by the United Food & Commercial Workers International Union. Nine people, including three Wal-Mart workers, were arrested at a protest in Los Angeles after they blocked...

A clothing factory in Bangladesh that has ties to Wal-Mart suffered a massive fire Saturday that left at least 118 factory workers dead and scores injured. Wal-Mart is the largest buyer of garments from Bangladesh, which has a notoriously poor fire-safety record and has long suppressed workers’ attempts to improve their conditions. The building was a factory operated by Tazreen Fashions, a subsidiary of the Tuba Group, which supplies...

Wal-Mart workers across the country are planning to stage unprecedented walkouts and protests on Friday, the busiest shopping day of the year. Wal-Mart has sought to counter the effort by filing an unfair labor practice charge against the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union and, according to critics, threatening workers with retaliation. We’re joined by William Fletcher, a Wal-Mart worker and member of the employee...

A general strike is underway across Europe today as millions are protesting spending cuts and tax hikes they say have deepened the region’s economic crisis. Spanish and Portuguese workers are coordinating their strike with work stoppages underway in Greece, Italy, France and Belgium. We go to Madrid for an update from independent journalist María Carrión. She notes the general strike comes after a 53-year-old woman jumped from a balcony...

We broadcast live from the Bainport encampment in Freeport, Illinois, where workers from Sensata Technologies — owned by Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s former company Bain Capital — are on day 50 of their protest against plans to send their jobs to China. Bainport has gained national attention in the run-up to the presidential election, as the workers have unsuccessfully appealed to Romney to save their jobs....

The great recession of 2008, this global economic meltdown, has wiped out the life savings of so many people and created a looming threat of chronic unemployment for millions. Despite unemployment levels that remain high, and the anxiety caused by people living paycheck to paycheck, many workers in the United States are taking matters into their own hands, demanding better working conditions and better pay.

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